Halder didn’t receive any reinforcements, and the enemy’s assault grew increasingly fierce.
He pressed his lips tightly together, not understanding why his luck was so bad. He had barely entered the exam site when he ran into the Empire’s mecha squad.
To make matters worse, he hadn’t brought his custom-built Exploding Flame mecha; instead, he was operating the Federation’s standard-issue Firebird mecha.
These two mechas were on completely different levels in terms of both defensive and offensive capabilities.
“Retreat! Scatter and retreat!”
To hell with this supply convoy mission! He was done with it!
The twenty Federation Firebird mechas scattered in all directions, running like their lives depended on it—because they did.
Halder initially thought this would disperse the enemy’s firepower. What he never expected was that they’d lock onto him, pouring nearly half their firepower right onto his back.
Boom!
A missile struck Halder’s mecha right in the energy compartment. Flames raced along the fuel lines, about to engulf the entire machine.
Halder frantically slammed the ejection button. The cockpit shot out like a cannonball, landed hard on the ground, and tumbled several times.
Dazed and disoriented, Halder knew the enemy pursuit would arrive any second. He had to get out of that cockpit immediately!
“Dammit! Why won’t it open?!” The cockpit door was jammed shut. Halder used every ounce of strength, but he couldn’t force it open.
His heart pounded wildly, his eyes burning red with rage and despair.
He knew he was finished! Not only would he fail the exam, but he’d also leave a lasting impression of incompetence in front of all those important people watching.
“Damn it!” He roared like an enraged lion, fists clenched, teeth grinding together.
Just as he was about to give in to despair and hit the emergency distress signal, the cockpit door was pried open from the outside.
“It’s you?” Halder stared blankly at Lin Xiaohe, whose face was smeared with dirt.
Lin Xiaohe shrugged. “Come on out.”
She hadn’t expected the cockpit to belong to Halder. This guy sure had some luck—the cockpit had conveniently landed right near the shell crater she was hiding in.
Halder struggled to climb out, trying to sound casual. “You’ve been here this whole time?”
“Yep.” Lin Xiaohe scanned the area, looking for a new place to hide.
A flicker of malice crossed Halder’s face. “Are you alone?”
“Now there’s two of us, counting you.”
“Oh, how nice.” Halder pulled a pistol from his waist and, without hesitation, aimed it at the back of Lin Xiaohe’s head and fired.
A pale yellow shield shimmered into existence behind Lin Xiaohe’s head, rippling faintly as the bullet struck.
The bullet dropped silently to the ground.
Lin Xiaohe turned around, her face expressionless as she looked at Halder.
Halder’s pupils dilated sharply. His expression grew even more vicious as he aimed at Lin Xiaohe’s forehead.
Bang! Bang!
Sharp, thunderous gunshots echoed near the crater, making Lin Xiaohe’s ears ring.
Halder emptied his pistol clip, only to stare in horror as Lin Xiaohe remained completely unharmed—not even a scratch.
“Y-You… the StarNet must be glitching!” Halder stumbled back several steps in terror.
When he noticed Lin Xiaohe was empty-handed and had no weapons, his terror was quickly replaced by gleeful triumph.
The muscles in his face twitched uncontrollably from the rapid shift in emotions, making him look utterly bizarre.
Lin Xiaohe flexed her wrists and charged at him, fists raised.
Halder let out a cruel laugh. “Ha! A trash-tier C-class physique? I could stand here and let you hit me all day, and you wouldn’t even hurt me.”
CRASH!
The next second, Halder went flying. His head slammed hard into the dirt, stars exploding in his vision.
Lin Xiaohe vanished, leaving only a blur behind her.
In an instant, she stomped down hard on Halder’s chest, forcing a spray of blood from his lips. “You really believed me when I said I had a weak physique?”
Halder’s chest burned with searing pain as he stared at her in disbelief.
How could such a small, scrawny body contain so much power?
It was unscientific!
“You… what are you trying to do? Don’t forget, lots of people are watching the live stream.”
Lin Xiaohe’s lips curled into a cold smirk. This was the ungrateful wretch who’d wasted a whole 10,000 interstellar credits of hers!
Without mercy, she stomped down, breaking both his arms and legs, then yanked off his smart brain. “Consider this payment for saving your life. Fair enough, right?”
Halder: …
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes were filled with righteous indignation. “One second I save you, the next you try to kill me. Has morality completely collapsed, or is this just human nature at its worst? You owe me some compensation for emotional distress, don’t you think?”
Halder managed to croak out, “How much?”
“Transfer everything you have.”
After she received the transfer—only 2 million interstellar credits—Lin Xiaohe curled her lip in disdain. “Man, you’re broke. Wesley’s way richer than you. Your mom definitely doesn’t love you.”
Halder had no idea he was illegitimate. Those words hit him right in the gut. “I’m way more outstanding than Wesley! My mom loves me the most!”
“Money talks. Where the money is, that’s where the love is.”
Humiliated, frustrated, and seething with rage, Halder felt his pride being trampled into the dirt by Lin Xiaohe.
But with the situation stacked against him, he could only swallow his pride and say, “Can you take your foot off my chest now?”
“Sure.” Lin Xiaohe lifted her foot, grabbed a nearby iron rod, and plunged it deep into Halder’s heart.
Halder’s eyes flew wide in disbelief. Blood trickled from his lips as the iron rod pierced his chest, shredding his heart to pieces in an instant.
Lin Xiaohe’s expression was cold, merciless. “You fired fifteen shots at me, and I only gave you one rod in return. Aren’t you grateful?”
Halder was beyond dead. His lifeless, wide eyes stared up at the sky, filled with nothing but despair and unwillingness.
Lin Xiaohe yanked the rod out with a cold snort. “Seeing you die with your eyes wide open? That’s how I know justice was served.”
She glanced at the other nineteen Firebird units.
What a shame. One by one, they erupted into balls of flame.
With a sigh, Lin Xiaohe walked toward the intact Firebird mecha nearby.
This was a real problem.
She was a total bumpkin. She only knew how to pilot second-generation mechas. The Little Bug was simple to operate, without all those fancy bells and whistles.
The Firebird, on the other hand, had a weapons control panel with over a hundred buttons.
Lin Xiaohe’s face scrunched up in frustration. “You know what they say: it’s not the godlike opponent you have to fear, but the teammate who’s a complete idiot.”
If Halder hadn’t exposed her hiding spot in that crater, she wouldn’t be forced to figure out how to operate a mecha she had zero experience with!
Climbing into the mecha, Lin Xiaohe stared at the cockpit’s control panels and felt her head spin.
Learning on the fly and hoping for the best—was that even possible?!
……
Wesley’s heart felt like it was on a roller coaster, lurching up and down. He finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Lin Xiaohe was safe.
[See! This is why the boss doesn’t just go around saving people. You gotta fear the idiot teammate more than the godlike opponent. Halder and his crew were exactly that kind of idiot teammate!]
After posting that comment, Wesley logged off. He was going to find that bastard Halder and settle the score!
Halder sat up, clutching his chest, his eyes filled with lingering terror, his body drenched in cold sweat.
The phantom pain of his heart being pierced still echoed in his nerves.
Death had felt so close.
“Halder!” Wesley stormed in, blazing with fury.
Halder shot him a glance, his expression cold. “It was on the orders of that certain someone. It was also the consensus among the candidates from the Third and Fourth Rings.”
“Lin Xiaohe’s enemies aren’t just the Empire. They’re all the candidates.”
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